11Alive announces morning anchor

ATLANTA -- "More and more people are starting their day with television news than ever before. So morning news is where we're putting our greatest emphasis," said Ellen Crooke, V.P. of News and Information for WXIA/WATL-TV. "Therefore, it is with great pride that we announce that we are moving our very popular, personable and intelligent news anchor, Ted Hall to mornings this fall."

As 11Alive continues its mission to change the face of local news in Atlanta, the station announced Thursday morning that Ted Hall would soon move to the morning slot, co-anchoring 11Alive News Today from 5 to 7 a.m. with Karyn Greer and Chesley McNeil.Ted will be filling very large shoes as he steps into the job after Jill Becker retires.

This type of move is not unprecedented in television news.In 1999, Good Morning America moved Charlie Gibson back to GMA and paired him with Diane Sawyer, both of whom had prime time roles working on news magazine shows.

"The morning news is where people build their news brand and loyalty. Ted Hall, with his popularity, charm and intelligence, is the only person we know who can replace Jill Becker after her two decades anchoring morning news for us," Crooke said. "We hope now Ted's fans who have been missing him in the evening understand that we needed to move Ted to a dayside shift to allow him to slide into the morning show from time to time over these past months so we could see how Ted liked the morning. The chemistry among Karyn Greer, Ted Hall and Chesley McNeil has been magical and fun to watch."

"As soon as I filled in on the morning show, I knew it was the right fit," Hall said. "The positives are many. There's more time with my family, a fun, high energy show that will give me a chance to help people and really show a different side of my personality. The negative? Replacing someone as wonderful and skilled as Jill Becker. I will miss working every day with Brenda Wood but look forward to mornings with Karyn, Chesley and the gang."

"I can't think of a better fit for the mornings than Ted," Becker said. "He's a solid newsman and he brings an energy and warmth to the set that people are going to love in the morning. He's one of my favorite people, personally and professionally. I'll be watching!"

His new co-anchor, Karyn Greer was also happy to welcome Ted to the team. "It's going to be tough filling Jill's shoes," Greer said. "She has been a consummate professional and expert on Atlanta for all of us. I auditioned with anchors from all over the country and hands down Ted is the perfect fit. Folks already know what he brings to the table; solid journalism, a wealth of knowledge and a great personality. I'm excited about sharing the anchor desk with him."

McNeil added, "I'm really going to miss having Jill on the show, but I'm also excited that Ted Hall will be joining us. Ted brings a lot of experience and expertise, and I think it would be good to have more testosterone on the set."

During his time with 11Alive, Ted has covered everything from political campaigns to natural disasters to stories that have dominated the headlines for months.He was on the forefront of the investigation into Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's problems in Milledgeville, Ga., covered the disastrous floods of 2009, anchored 11Alive News coverage for 6 hours straight after a tornado ripped through Downtown Atlanta, and he received national attention for his coverage of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.Ted's passion for accuracy, journalistic ethics and expertise have won him the acclaim of his peers and many awards, including multiple Emmys, Edward R. Murrow Awards, Associate Press Awards,andin 2010, he was named Best Large Market Anchor in the Best of Gannett awards.

Ted's hope is to do more of his favorite kind of stories: stories of people overcoming the odds likd the tri-athlete without legs and the special Olympian who's had 37 brain surgeries.There are certain subjects that are near and dear to Ted's heart; he and his son Keaton, who was diagnosed in 2007 with a very slow growing brain cancer,have helped to raisethousands of dollars for the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children, Coaches Curing Kids Cancer, The American Cancer Society, Safepath, CASA and others.

Ted joined the 11Alive News Team in January of 2006, after 18 years at WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was promoted from weekend sports anchor to anchoring the evening newscasts for five years.Ted began his career in broadcasting in 1983, working as a disc jockey at a station in Burlington, Colorado. From there he worked his way up through the business, as photographer, anchor and news sports producer at KLOE-TV in Goodland, Kansas, which has the distinction of being the smallest TV station doing local newscasts in the United States! Career highlights include reporting for CBS Network News during a multiple murder in Western Kansas and sports reporting on ESPN.He is married and has three children.

WXIA is owned by The Gannett Company

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